Chicago Business Barometer – Lifted to 50.4 in August

The Chicago Business BarometerTM, produced with MNI, rose 6.0 points to 50.4 in August, up from 44.4 in July. The index had been in contractionary territory for two months before this month’s gain. Only two of the Business Activity components saw a monthly decline, as Supplier Deliveries saw a sharp fall, dropping to 50.3 from July’s 55.6. The survey still suggests a softer overall tone in business activity despite the August pick-up in sentiment, as the three-month average fell again, dipping to 48.2. Production remains muted, despite a pickup of 6.7 points. Demand recovered slightly, highlighted by an increase ... (full story)

tweet at 9:55am: The Euro is dropping against the Dollar “like crazy,” giving them a big export and manufacturing advantage...and the Fed does NOTHING! Our Dollar is now the strongest in history. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Except to those (manufacturers) that make product for sale outside the U.S. tweet at 9:55am: ....We don’t have a Tariff problem (we are reigning in bad and/or unfair players), we have a Fed problem. They don’t have a clue!